Posts Tagged ‘MRSA’

From Eye Opener’s Editor, Brian Nash: Another week gone by – where does the time go? Our bloggers this past week, Theresa Neumann, Jon Stefanuca, Jason Penn, Mike Sanders and Sarah Keogh, were – in addition to practicing law – busy on the keyboard blogging away. In case you missed any posts during the week of April 10th through the 15th, here’s your opportunity to catch-up.

The “Medical Home” – find out what it is and why you should have one!

This past week, Sarah wrote two blogs on a concept that frankly I had not heard of before – the Medical Home. Her follow-up piece on how parents in particular are using emergency departments and clinics was posted yesterday, Friday, April 15th.

In her first piece, Sarah discussed a key issue about continuity of medical care for all of us but particularly our children. While there’s no doubt that there are times when taking your child to an emergency room is the only way to go in a true emergency, is it really the right place for a child to receive primary care? You see a physician or a medical specialist such as a physician’s assistant on a one-time basis. What do they really know about your child’s complete medical history? Do they really address key issues of general health care that is essential to your child’s overall health?

A Disturbing Report on Some Area Hospitals and their Complication Rates

Earlier in the week, the new member of our legal team, Jason Penn, wrote about a recent report from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission regarding a continuing failure of several local Maryland and DC hospitals to lessen the number of patients who suffer from complications while in these institutions. P.G. Hospital Center won the dubious distinction of being first in class. Jason reports that this institution, which services many of the area’s population, was fined by the state of Maryland for the number of “complications that are unlikely to be a consequence of the natural progression of an underlying disease.” The “list” includes specified complications such as “bed sores, infections, accidental punctures or cuts during medical procedures, strokes, falls, delivery with placental complications, obstetrical hemorrhage without transfusion, septicemia, collapsed lungs and kidney failure.” For information as to how the local jurisdictions deal with these hospitals in the pocketbook and who made the list, read Jason’s blog post entitled Report Card on Failing Hospitals: Prince George’s Hospital Center Tops “Complications” List.

Learn More about Medicine and Your Health

Theresa Neumann, an in-house medical specialist in our firm, posted Spinal Stroke: An atypical cause of back pain this past week. It’s one thing to have lawyers who live and breath medicine and the law write about medical conditions; it’s quite another to have real medical specialists like Theresa educate all of us on medical matters that affect the lives of so many. Theresa brings to the public’s awareness the signs, symptoms, risks and potential treatment alternatives to a catastrophically disabling condition that many just don’t know about – until it’s too late for them.

We’ve all – unfortunately – heard about or know someone who has suffered a stroke in their brain. Well, as Theresa reports, there’s an equally devastating form of stroke that can hit our spinal cord, which can render the victim paralyzed, without control of bowel or bladder, incapable of feeling sensation and a host of other life-altering consequences. We’re always appreciative of the wonderful, educational pieces Theresa brings to our blog. This piece is no exception.

The War against Super Bugs – MRSA and CRKP – are we losing the fight?

There was a time many months ago where we all became aware of the super bug infection known as MRSA. It was in the news over and over again. Have you heard much about it lately? Silence by news media might make one think that our medical institutions have won the war and the threat of this deadly infection is over. As Mike Sanders tells us – not so quick! In his blog of this past week, Deadly Super Bugs on the rise, Mike tells us who’s winning the MRSA war to and about a newcomer in the Super Bug family – CRKP.

The news is simply not good! See what seems to be working against MRSA and don’t miss the update at the end of Mike’s post about a new prevention method using honey.

Some may just be surprised about the advice Jon gives in this posting. It is not a call to arms against the medical profession or even a call to our law firm so you can sue the b*****ds! Jon offers some very important advice to those who have been through an experience with a healthcare provider and are considering whether or not they have a potential lawsuit for the injuries they have suffered.

We believe this post encapsulates in large part some principles we have been advocating for a long time. Not every bad outcome means malpractice has occurred. However, how would you – as a lay person – be able to make the distinction between what is and what is not a real medical malpractice case? In addition to Jon’s sage advice, this post links to a White Paper we did on Choosing a Lawyer – a Primer. We hope if you have unfortunately found yourself faced with this issue of whether you should sue or not that you will find this blog by Jon informative and helpful in making your decision.

A Sneak Peak of the Week Ahead

As you can see, our bloggers were quite busy last week. Well, this coming week will be no different. The days ahead will be consumed with representing our clients in depositions, investigations, filing pleadings and court appearances….and writing and posting some interesting, important blogs on aneurysms (did you know they can present as back pain?), laughing gas coming back for moms in labor, sleep deprivation for nurses (and how well that plays out in your healthcare) and some other good stuff our writers are busy working on this weekend and during the week ahead.

Health scares are common and are many times overblown. However, the evolution of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics (dubbed Super Bugs) is a very real and growing danger. Yahoo Health is reporting that two especially dangerous bacteria – MRSA and CRKP – are becoming resistant to all but the most advanced antibiotics, which is posing a major health threat.

Klebsiella is a common type of gram-negative bacteria that are found in our intestines (where the bugs don’t cause disease). MRSA (methacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) is a type of bacteria that live on the skin and can burrow deep into the body if someone has cuts or wounds, including those from surgery.

The reason for this new resistance is likely over-use (which includes mis-use) of antibiotics by health care providers (with likely some contribution from use of antibiotics in animals). For a few years now, there has been a growing recognition that doctors are over-prescribing antibiotics, i.e., routinely prescribing antibiotics when they are not necessary. For example, in 2005, U.S. News reported a Harvard study that revealed that doctors routinely prescribed antibiotics for sore throats in children when they were not indicated. A 2007 study indicated that Dutch doctors (whom are generally considered more careful in their use of antibiotics) routinely prescribed antibiotics for respiratory tract infections when they were not indicated.

The Problem with “Overuse”

The danger this poses is that antibiotics – even effective ones – typically leave some bacteria alive. These tend to be the stronger or more resistant bacteria, which then leads to the development of more and more resistance. This occurs in a single individual body in which a patient may have less response to an antibiotic after earlier use of that same antibiotic, but because of the easy spread of bacteria in our world, it also occurs on a global scale. For certain strains of bacteria, doctors are becoming hard-pressed to treat these infections.

CRKP – worse than MRSA?

Thankfully, MRSA is still responsive to several antibiotics so it is still considered a treatable infection. CRKP, however, is of more concern because it is only responsive to Colistin, which can be toxic to the kidneys. Therefore, doctors have no good options when treating CRKP. While so far, the risk of healthy people dying from MRSA and CRKP remains very low, the most vulnerable of us (the elderly and the chronically ill) remain at risk because of their lowered immune system and because the elderly are in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities where infections tend to spread more easily than in the general community.

CRKP has now been reported in 36 US states—and health officials suspect that it may also be triggering infections in the other 14 states where reporting isn’t required. High rates have been found in long-term care facilities in Los Angeles County, where the superbug was previously believed to be rare, according to a study presented earlier this month.

It is essential that we rein in the casual use of antibiotics before we are left with infections that have no cure. Doctors must be better trained to know when antibiotics are necessary and when they are not. For example, antibiotics are useless against viruses (such as the common cold), but how many of you have been given an antibiotic by a doctor “just in case” or because your symptoms have gone on slightly longer than a typical cold would last? It is unfortunately a more common occurrence than we realize. The past success of antibiotics has naturally led doctors to want to give them to patients to relieve suffering. No one wants to turn down a patient who is seeking relief. However, it makes no sense to give antibiotics to a patient who has no bacterial infection or whose illness will clear up on its own.

Patient Awareness is key

The problem, however, is more than just educating doctors. Patients share some blame too. We – the public – need to learn that antibiotics are not always needed, which can be a difficult lesson to learn when we’re sick. Everyone knows that antibiotics are a quick and effective remedy against common bacterial infections. Antibiotics have saved countless lives over the years and have relieved untold human suffering. So naturally, when we are sick (or our child is sick) and we go to the doctor, we want to see results. We want something that will alleviate the pain and symptoms, not simply be told to wait for the illness to run its course. Sometimes, however, that is the best course when you consider the side-effects of antibiotics and the dangers of over-use. That being said, who wants to hear that when you’re in pain and want relief? It is very easy to demand of doctors that they use all available means to treat a sick child. Doctors need to be able to stand-up to patients and educate them on why antibiotics are not necessarily the best course of treatment in a specific situation.

Don’t kill the good ones!

Doctors also have to teach patients that antibiotics are not targeted killers. The body contains a lot of good bacteria that are vital to our body’s functioning. Antibiotics kill those bacteria as well, which some researchers believe can adversely affect health by allowing harmful bacteria to proliferate. (If you have seen “probiotocs” advertised on certain food products – like yogurt – that is an attempt to introduce good bacteria back into your body.).

Some basic steps to take

In order to protect yourself (or a loved one), good hygiene remains the most effective method of remaining infection-free. Thankfully, neither MRSA or CRKP are transmitted through the air. They are typically transmitted through person-to-person contact, or else through hospital equipment such as IV lines, catheters, or ventilators. If you have a loved one in a hospital or nursing home, be vigilant with your hand-washing and those of the healthcare providers caring for your loved one.

Also, if you are a patient who has been prescribed antibiotics, follow your pharmacist’s orders scrupulously and take the medication in the proper dosage and for the proper amount of time. Stopping antibiotics too soon can leave bacteria alive, which contributes to the evolution of more resistant bacteria. You may feel better and want to stop the medication, but it is important to take the full dose.

So – now that you know the risks of over-using antibiotics, are you willing to forego antibiotics when you are sick in order to do your part for the greater good?

UPDATE: (Editor – Brian Nash) Within an hour of posting Mike Sander’s blog on MRSA (and CRKP), I came across a tweet about Manuka Honey is being used for dressings to fight the spread of Super Bugs – particularly MRSA.

Researchers now believe that it can also put a stop to the rates at which superbugs are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Anyone know of this practice being used in your area hospital or clinics? Does anyone know if this really works? If so, most interesting and useful. Here to spread the word – how about you spreading it too?